Otterly fantastic recovery as otters go urban in the UK
When you think of urban wildlife, most North Americans think raccoons or skunks. Most UKers think more along the lines of foxes and squirrels. But The Wildlife Trusts, a British conservation authority, say cleaner waters mean otters in urban centers.
Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol, Canterbury and Cardiff are just some of the thirteen urban centers that are now home to resident otters, thanks to better water management and more access to picine food. Coming from virtual extinction in the 60's, this is very, very good news.
Director general of The Wildlife Trusts Dr. Simon Lyster said the recovery of the otter was "the most exciting success story of the last decade". Rural numbers are also on the rise, but large roadkill numbers for otters and other species are still a cause for concern.
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MelSkunk (Melissa Drake) — read stories — contact (login required)a student and Skunk from Toronto, ON, interested in writting, art, classic cars and animals
Comments
Yay! This is great to hear. There's a lot of good people working on the otter recovery plans, and it's good to see them succeeding.
This is so very British, though. Can you imagine our current US leadership pledging to help a small playful fuzzy animal, much less setting a specific goal for it? Bald eagles, yes. But America isn't so critter-friendly.
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